“A match like this is very tough,” head coach Tom Minkel said. “They are three-time defending national champions and have credentials up and down.”

Although Minkel said Penn State presented a tough challenge for the Spartans, he said the only thing they can do now is “improve and get better.”

No. 7-ranked McClure was supposed to wrestle 12th-ranked junior Jimmy Lawson, but he was out this weekend. Instead of Lawson, junior Jon Gingrich would have wrestled, but also did not compete because he was sick, so McClure wrestled junior Nick Ruggear.

“I got him out of balance with my fakes, then I got him. He got me in the face in the beginning,” McClure said.

According to Minkel, both McClure and Ruggear were circling back and forth for a while and the match did not have as much action as it should have.

“He didn’t engage a lot. (Ruggear) was trying to catch Mike in a mistake,” Minkel said.

The crowd watching screamed and yelled when McClure, who said he outweighed Ruggear by “at least 20 pounds,” came out victorious 5-1 with two takedowns.

“It must be the mullet. They seem to like it so I gotta give it to them,” he said, laughing.

Another Spartan, who did not win his match but came back strong, scaring his opponent, was sophomore Nick Trimble.

Trimble wrestled against junior Andrew Alton in the 149-pound category and although he lost 9-5, he had a strong comeback in the second and third periods.

“My conditioning and endurance are strong and I know I can keep up with anyone,” Trimble said. “He got pretty tired in the end.”

Minkel said Trimble is a “bright, hardworking and smart kid” and that his “progress is extraordinary.”

“Nick has made as much progress in one year as any other kid I coached,” he said.

The team is improving everyday and will continue to work to get better, Trimble said.

“Even though they are the No. 1 team, anything could happen and anyone can beat anyone,” Trimble said.

The Spartans’ next matchup will be at No. 12 Ohio State.